Voters in the Republic of Ireland will be deciding if same-sex marriage should be made legal following a referendum on the 22nd May of this year. In order to make a stand against some "pretty ugly lies" which are being printed against marriage equality, Daintree Paper will be turning them into confetti to raise money for your upcoming gay wedding. Profits go to Yes Equality, the campaign for a Yes vote. Lovely stuff.
But before we get too happy-clappy, let's switch our analytical brains on. This advertising is much too good to be an in-house piece from a little paper shop you've never heard of - in both the concept and execution. They've put everything behind it; we are talking a full integrated campaign including social media, a microsite, and a physical product - and that doesn't come cheap. Someone is hoping for a viral hit. And those someones are new owners Ger and Lar Barron, paper merchants (of parent company Realt Paper Ltd), and agency responsible for the work, Rothco.
Daintree Paper are apparently better known in Ireland for a gay cake-topper row, where previous owner Paul Barnes is on record as saying his store "would not stock any merchandise that promotes same-sex marriage”. New owners clearly looking for a rebrand, both of their business, their ethics, but also putting marketing efforts behind an admirable cause.
I wish them every success. Since I started writing this piece, their video has doubled in views, so I think we might have a nice little viral hit on our hands, especially in the run up to the referendum.
Feedback over the social webs is unanimously positive:
I love @ShredofDecency_ by @DaintreePaper turning inequality into love that can be scattered #yestoequality
— Edel Becton (@dellbells13) April 7, 2015
Best idea ever (after equal rights ;-) )
Fair play to @ShredofDecency_ @DaintreePaper you win the internet!
@YesEquality2015 #MarRef
— Helen (@HellyH) April 7, 2015
Website: http://shredofdecency.ie/
Rothco
Adland® is a commercial-laden heaven and hell for advertising addicts around the world.
This advertising publication was founded in 1996, built on beer and bravery, Adland® now boasts the largest super bowl commercials collection in the world.
Adland® survives on your donations alone. You can help us out by buying us a Ko-Fi. Adland® works best in Brave browser
While the idea is great - the recycling and making little bags filled heart shaped confetti love that - I'm growing increasingly tired of the animated "lets explain the idea" concepts. They can in the end, explain ideas that never actually happen (and often do, see student spec work). Your noting of the company wanting rebrand is astute. Some may find that tactic very cynical. Welcome to advertising!
- reply
PermalinkIf I'm being entirely 200% honest with you, one might consider this a For Profit company using a social movement to galvanise support for itself, rebrand their image, and get a big slice of free column inches (see above; it's working). But I would never actually voice those opinions, as it would confirm my inevitable decent into becoming a true advertising cynic.
At any rate, the smart move was working with charity Yes Equality. Similarly to Sainsbury's working with the Royal British Legion over Christmas; if anyone says "Hey, wait a tick! Aren't you a For Profit company using a social movement to make money?" they can simply turn around and say "NO WAY JOSE, THE PROFITS ALL GO TO CHARITY." I call this the Sainsbury's defence. Very clever.
One does have to wonder how much of this stuff they actually made though - which I believe is your original query. A few bags? I find something hilarious in the idea of printing out homophobic leaflets with the purpose of turning them into little paper hearts. It's the analogue version of Coke's "Make It Happy". I'm not sure about the name though.
Confetti? Confabulous! (This stuff writes itself).
- reply
PermalinkGood.. Good... Let the true advertising cynic flow through you.
You have to watch it with the latching on to social trends. In this case it seems a most logical conclusion, seeing as the shop was previously tarnished for being anti same sex marriages and is now owned by someone with an entirely different viewpoint. Latching on to the social trend du jour can backfire - see Sainsbury's that you mention, and more recently Starbucks race talk in the United States. A key to dressing up in issues is relevance, and charity as you point out. Starbucks failed on both of those.
Also, they could have made any number of bags, how difficult is that in a print shop? Just grab all the misprints and confetti away!
- reply
Permalink